Motor vehicle



Nov. 29, 19.38. R. s. KELLOGG MOTOR VEHICLE Filed Feb. 4, 1935 rwc'nto'nRALPH .ZILLa/SE Patented Nov'. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2Claims., (Cl. 22H3) This invention relates to motor vehicles and moreparticularly to means for venting the air from the liquid fuel tank.

The liquid fuel tanks of motor vehicles are ordinarily each providedwith a filler pipe through which the liquid fuel is introduced and withan air vent tube secured within the illle'r pipe to allow the air to bedischarged from the tank as the fuel fiows thereinto. I'he air vent tubeextends from the inlet end of the ller pipe to or slightly beyond theend of said tube attached to the tank. In certain constructions during afilling operation, part of the inflowing fuel is carried into the lowerend of the air vent tube by the l5 outflowing air thereby clogging thistube and retarding the flow of the fuel through the ller pipe.

One object of the present invention is to provide a construction formotor vehicles which will prevent, during the introduction of fuel intothe fuel tank, the inowing fuel from being carried into the lower end ofthe air vent tube.

Another object of the invention is toproduce for motor vehicles aconstruction which will direct the fuel owing into the tank adjacent theinlet end of the air vent tube to prevent the same from entering saidend of the tube.

With the above and other objects in view. the invention consists in aconstruction embodying the novel and improved features hereinafterdescribed and particularly pointed out in the claims the advantages ofwhich will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. l

The invention will be clearly understood from the accompanying drawingillustrating the invention in its preferred form and the followingdetailed description of the construction therein shown.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a view in vertical section of a portion of amotor vehicle looking toward the rear of the vehicle and illustrating aconstruction embodying the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a. detail view in vertical section illustrating a portion ofthe fuel tank and the ller tube shown in Fig. 1 with the nozzle of afiller hose inserted in the upper end of the filler tube and Fig. 3 is adetail view in vertical section illustrating the lower portions of theiiller pipe and air vent tube and the adjacent portion of the fuel tankand indicating the manner in which the inflowing fuel is deflected as itreaches the lower end of the air vent tube.

'I'he invention is illustrated in this application as applied to a motorvehicle indicated as a whole at 2 and comprising side frame members oneof which is indicated at 3, cross frame members one oi' which isindicated at 4, side body panels, one of which is indicated at 5, a rearcompart- 5 ment 6, having a bottom 1, a rear ywall 8 formed with anopening 9 and a door III for closing said opening. The side panels 5 areeach recessed as at II to forma wheel housing and a rear fender I2 issecured to each side panel within 10 this recess.

The vehicle is provided with a liquid fuel tank I3 supported between theside frame members. The tank is formed with a filling opening I4 and aller pipe indicated as a whole at I5 is 15 secured to the tank aboutsaid opening. `The filler pipe comprises a section I6 having an elbowformation the downwardly extending arm of which is provided with aflange I1 by which said section is secured to the tank. The hori- 20zontally extending arm of said section is provided with a flange I8 anda short pipe section I9 provided with a flange 20 is secured to thesection I6 by means of bolts 2i passing through said flanges, a gasket22 being interposed between the 25 flanges to form a tight joint. Thefiller pipe also comprises a flexible section 23 having a bellowsformation and secured at one end to the section I9. To the other end ofthe exible section 23 is secured the horizontal arm of a section 24 also30 having an elbow formation and provided with a tubular terminal 25secured to the upper end of the vertically extending arm thereof. Withinthe terminal 25 is attached an annular member 2B projecting from saidterminal and engaging in 35 an opening 28 in the fender. The terminal 25is formed with a flange 30 arranged to engage the fender about theopening 28 and the upper end of the filler tube is secured to the fenderby screws 32. 40

As shown in Fig. 1, the ller pipe extends from the fender I2 downwardlyand then laterally through an opening in the side panel 5 into thecompartment 6 and from sa'id compartment ex-4 tends downwardly throughan opening in the 45 bottom wall 'I thereof to the fuel tank. Therelative positions of the fuel tank and the fender I2 vary to somedegree in different vehicles and the flexible section 23 of the llerpipe enables the pipe to be bent to compensate for such varia- 50 tionsin the positions of said parts.

It will be observed, that, in the above construction, the filler tube isprovided with a substantially vertical inlet end portion, with asubstantially vertical portion adjacent the tank and 55 with asubstantially horizontal portion connecting said two vertical portions.

lIn order to vent the air as the fuel is introduced into the tankthrough the filler pipe Il, an air vent tube 34 is secured within thefiller pipe. In the construction shown, this tube extends longitudinallyof the filler'pipe from a point adjacent the inlet end of said pipe toa. point adjacent and preferably slightly beyond the discharge end ofsaid pipe and is preferably bent to correspond with the bends in thefiller pipe. That is, the tube is bent to provide a substantiallyvertical portion at the inlet end portion of the filler tube, asubstantially vertical portion adjacent the tank and a substantiallyhorizontal portion connecting said vertical portions. The vent tube islocated in the filler pipe in substantially the position shown in thedrawing so that it lies in contact with or close to the left hand sidewall of the vertically extending upper portion of the filler pipe, theupper wall of the horizontally extending portion of thev pipe and theleft hand side wall of the vertically extending portion of the pipeadjacent the tank. The vent-tube is secured to the section 24 of thefiller pipe at 38 preferably by soldering. As shown clearly in Fig. 2,the lower end portion of the air vent tube extends slightly beyond thelower end of the filler pipe, the vent tube projecting a short distancethrough the opening I4 into the fuel tank. l y

In filling the fuel tank the nozzle of the filler hose shown in dot anddash lines and indicated at A in Fig. 2 is inserted in the upper end ofthe filler pipe as shown in this figure, the lower end of the nozzlebeing located at one `side of the air vent tube 3l and projecting downbelow the upper end of said tube. In order to prevent the fuel passingdownwardly from the filler pipe into the fuel tank from being carriedinto the lower end of the air vent tube, means is provided for directingor deflecting said fuel adjacent the lower end of the tube. In theconstruction illustrated in this application the lower end portion ofthe tube is flared as indicated at 3l to secure this result. Theinflowing fuel, as it rushes downwardly through the vertical portion ofthe filler pipe adjacent the tank. strikes the outer surface of theflared end of the tube and is deflected outwardly away from the axis ofthe tube as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3. It is believed that thisdirecting or deflection of the inflowing fuel, by spreading the stream,breaks the continuity of the same about the axis of the pipe so thatopenings are formed through which the air may pass. In any event it isfound in actual practice that with this construction the air vent tubeis unobstructed'by fuel during the filling of the tank so that the airfrom the tank may pass out freely through said tube.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to theparticular construction of the illustrated embodiment of the inventionbut that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scopeof the claims.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention and havingspecifically described a construction embodying the invention in itspreferred form what is claimed is:

l. A construction for motor vehicles comprising a liquid fuel tank, afiller pipe for said tank having a vertically extending portion attachedto the tank, and an air outlet tube mounted within said filler pipe andhaving itsinlet end extending into said tank unrestrictedly below saidfiller pipe, the inlet end of said air outlet tube being flared fordeflecting the iniiowing fuel directly into the tank during a fillingoperation to exclude the same from a space of substantial volumeimmediately below said inlet end of the tube.

2. A construction for motor vehicles comprising a liquid fuel tank. afiller pipe for said tank, and a continuous air outlet tube fixed insaid pipe. the outlet end of said tube being entirely open and extendingto a point adjacent the inlet end of the filler pipe and the inlet endof said tube being flared and extending unrestrictedly into the tankbelow the pipe for creating a comparatively quiet air space ofsubstantial volume immediately below said inlet end of said tube tofacilitate fuel precipitation in said space.

RALPH S. KELLOGG.

